Returning Player

So I have decided to buy the expansion and try the game out again, previously I had a level 50 Cleric Guardian side, which I have quite a lot of plat on.

I've not played since addons were introduced and addons are a major part of why I play WoW, not for easier gameplay, but for looks, they just make the game look 100x better.

Anyway, I don't fancy playing my Cleric, so I am going to level a Warrior on Defiance. I know transfers are free and simple, can you swap plat/gold between factions? The reason I ask before testing is, I rolled my Defiance on Iceshard and my Cleric is on Bloodiron (the busiest pvp server), since my Guardian has lots of Plat, I wouldn't mine sharing some with my new Defiance char, however, I will not be surprised if you can't. If I can't share my money, then I'd rather leave the Cleric on a pvp server.

Any extra tips, recommended addons are greatly appreciated, I feel like a nub again.

p.s. levelling weaponsmith and armoursmith is looking to be a right pain.

You can mail money and anything non-soulbound to either faction. You should be warned though, PvP servers are mostly dead, as both Defiants and Guardians can now group up, raid together, join the same guild, etc. Being on a PvP server, you can't group up if you're flagged. There's not a lot of incentive to playing on a PvP server, so most players use their free transfers to join the far more heavily populated PvE servers.

As for tips, just read all the varies subforums on Rift's official forum. There's a lot of pertinent information on builds, good professions and more.

Since there are a lot of "returning to rift" threads I just chose one that I felt wouldn't be necessarily Shanghai'd by more questions.

I recently did a Scroll on WoW, leveled up to 90, and I gotta tell you I'm not interested in doing a heroic/LFR grind for gear, dailies, etc etc anymore. Probably will cut the sub before I get charged again. Having said that, can some people tell me what about Storm Legion make Rift returning to? Are Justicars not as boring anymore, are Warrior tank souls better balanced? Am interested in MMO's still, but just can't go back to WoW because nothing's really changed. I'm not a hamster anymore ; )

So I have decided to buy the expansion and try the game out again, previously I had a level 50 Cleric Guardian side, which I have quite a lot of plat on.

I've not played since addons were introduced and addons are a major part of why I play WoW, not for easier gameplay, but for looks, they just make the game look 100x better.

Anyway, I don't fancy playing my Cleric, so I am going to level a Warrior on Defiance. I know transfers are free and simple, can you swap plat/gold between factions? The reason I ask before testing is, I rolled my Defiance on Iceshard and my Cleric is on Bloodiron (the busiest pvp server), since my Guardian has lots of Plat, I wouldn't mine sharing some with my new Defiance char, however, I will not be surprised if you can't. If I can't share my money, then I'd rather leave the Cleric on a pvp server.

Any extra tips, recommended addons are greatly appreciated, I feel like a nub again.

p.s. levelling weaponsmith and armoursmith is looking to be a right pain.

You easily swap anything cross faction/ cross character as long as they are on the same shard and also the item is not soulbound (only two restrictions), there has been a massive revamp to pretty much everything and now Guardians and Defiants can work together/group together/hang out together/be in the same guild etc etc. They have pretty much eliminated the faction border, apart from Guardians can't enter meridian and Defiants can't enter sanctum without being beaten up by a load of guards. Due to these changes its had a massive impact on how people play together which has resulted in pretty much everyone moving to PVE shards and playing as one massive team, instead of fighting each other, this has meant that Bloodiron is a barren wasteland, as it's just to much hassle and to difficult to play on a PVP shard at max level, while fighting some zone event boss like Volan (Youtube it).

My Advice: Transfer your cleric to Icewatch, when you get into the Storm Legion zones, everywhere feels so alive and packed and its great fun, I'd also suggest trying out cleric a bit before you knock it, some of the revamps to Inquistor and Shaman have made the class in my opinion quite awesome, Also don't bother levelling professions they are pretty much useless, there are so many people that have levelled them so the items available for them you can purchase for such a cheap price and there is no sort of stat bonus or incentive to level them, so levelling proffesions in my opinion is purely for conveyance =)

and finally for a big long list of what has changed be sure to check out

Since there are a lot of "returning to rift" threads I just chose one that I felt wouldn't be necessarily Shanghai'd by more questions.

I recently did a Scroll on WoW, leveled up to 90, and I gotta tell you I'm not interested in doing a heroic/LFR grind for gear, dailies, etc etc anymore. Probably will cut the sub before I get charged again. Having said that, can some people tell me what about Storm Legion make Rift returning to? Are Justicars not as boring anymore, are Warrior tank souls better balanced? Am interested in MMO's still, but just can't go back to WoW because nothing's really changed. I'm not a hamster anymore ; )

With the release of Storm Legion a lot of souls got an absolutely MASSIVE overhaul, while I'm not to much of an expert on clerics or warriors I can tell you that all our tanks are having a lot more fun with Storm Legion, tanks got quite a hefty damage increase, so it feels like your contributing more to the fight and quite a few of the warrior tank souls got some rather interesting changes... for example Warlord you can now block without a shield and they just totally changed all the mechanics of that tree

Here's a video of one of our MT's who is a Justicar, tanking the Crucia encounter who is the end boss of the first 20 man~

I recently did a Scroll on WoW, leveled up to 90, and I gotta tell you I'm not interested in doing a heroic/LFR grind for gear, dailies, etc etc anymore. *snip* Am interested in MMO's still, but just can't go back to WoW because nothing's really changed. I'm not a hamster anymore ; )

Not to be rude, but your statements don't really add up. You say you aren't interested in grinding dungeons/raids for gear, state you don't want to do the gear treadmill/hamster routine, but you are still interested in MMOs.

I hate to tell you this, but even GW2, which tried to stay out of the gear treadmill, is starting to develop a gear treadmill.

If that is what is bothering you, then you actually aren't interested in MMOs anymore. Sure there are a lot of other activities to do, like Achievements and whatnot, but it's all basically the same. Rift is almost to the level of WoW, having so many other things to do, but the only way to really progress your character is with gear. Just about every major MMO has these qualities. Rift has these qualities.

As much as I would love to see a new Rift player, this doesn't sound like anything that's going to appeal to you in the long run either. I'm not sure what you are looking for, because it doesn't really exist. Maybe take a break and play games that can be 'beaten' for a while?

Not to be rude, but your statements don't really add up. You say you aren't interested in grinding dungeons/raids for gear, state you don't want to do the gear treadmill/hamster routine, but you are still interested in MMOs.

I hate to tell you this, but even GW2, which tried to stay out of the gear treadmill, is starting to develop a gear treadmill.

If that is what is bothering you, then you actually aren't interested in MMOs anymore. Sure there are a lot of other activities to do, like Achievements and whatnot, but it's all basically the same. Rift is almost to the level of WoW, having so many other things to do, but the only way to really progress your character is with gear. Just about every major MMO has these qualities. Rift has these qualities.

As much as I would love to see a new Rift player, this doesn't sound like anything that's going to appeal to you in the long run either. I'm not sure what you are looking for, because it doesn't really exist. Maybe take a break and play games that can be 'beaten' for a while?

ps - love your name

Thanks to yours and Seatin's responses.

It's not rude to say that, because Rift is similar to WoW in that regard, grind gear/raid stuff/loot. The thing about Rift that I know is different is the amount of things you can do to earn currency, like just rifting or instant adventure. WoW pretty much only has Scenerios in that regard and I'm not really impressed. They are also pretty worthless for farming Valor. I'm pretty fickle right now, and have wife/1 year old which has definitely changed things, but an MMO is still what I want. The adjustment to casual is pretty difficult for someone who has historically been hardcore.

Yeah GW2 has the ascended gear, and sure earning that is a crazy grind, but it still does the casual thing the best. While it's certainly one of my favorite games, I need the raiding PvE fix every once in a while.

The thing about Rift that I know is different is the amount of things you can do to earn currency, like just rifting or instant adventure. WoW pretty much only has Scenerios in that regard and I'm not really impressed. They are also pretty worthless for farming Valor. I'm pretty fickle right now, and have wife/1 year old which has definitely changed things, but an MMO is still what I want. The adjustment to casual is pretty difficult for someone who has historically been hardcore.

Well I can better understand that rationality. Though it makes me wonder why you are having problems with WoW currently...if you are looking for a PvE fix for gear, Rift and WoW both provide 'similar' ways to go about getting gear that isn't as good as raid gear. I inquired along similar lines when I started playing Rift, because I liked being able to do various PvE activities for gear.

It seems that the gear you can get is on par with the quality of LFR/Valor gear. Rift provides a little bit more variety with closing Rifts and IAs, but it really seems awfully similar foundationally. Even though I can go on and on about how awesome Rift is and think everyone should play it, I think WoW can meet your needs as well. Other people here might dislike me saying that, but I'm going to be honest because I love and play both games.

If the sound of a little bit more customization in your class (9 'talent trees' to smash together) and a little bit more variety in your PvE activities makes a dramatic difference to you, then I think Rift would be a good experience. As a casual and busy gamer myself, I've found that both games fill a nice niche in my gaming. I used to play lots of alts in WoW, but find that Rift is far more engaging than alt play. WoW has quick accesibility and decent payoff (once you've leveled), Rift has deep engagement with no need for a heavy time commitment from the moment you start really. Right now Rift is my focus with wow as a 'filler' activity. It's a nice change of pace.

Yes, you are correct, there are more options to grinding currency to buy gear and a helluva lot more to do at max level than any other mmo out there - well, those that I've played. Zone Events, Instant Adventure, Dungeons, Daily Raid Quests, Hunt Rifts, Onslaught Daily Quests. Most MMO's pale in comparison to the activities at your disposal in Rift.

My feeling is that now that the interface, quality of life improvements have been done in the game, we will start seeing a lot more actual dungeons and other content and new activities, even more features appearing in new patches. We'll have to wait a month to see what 2.2 holds.

Then there's the fishing, the artifact hunting, the World Events, Conquest, the PvP warfront variety, World Bosses, the regular patch updates. It is pretty much the best PvE mmo out there.

Don't write off the cleric too soon. All the classes have undergone major changes since the Storm Legion expansion and are a breath of fresh air. Some good, some bad.

Also, if you want to make plat, and are starting a new character, take the three gathering professions. Sell the mats and buy the already crafted gear.

I am thinking about returning as well. I never got any characters above 30, I don't think.

Regarding Storm Legion, what is there for low level, new players? I am thinking about returning, but if the return is short, I don't want to buy the expansion unless I can get something out of it at low levels.

I am thinking about returning as well. I never got any characters above 30, I don't think.

Regarding Storm Legion, what is there for low level, new players? I am thinking about returning, but if the return is short, I don't want to buy the expansion unless I can get something out of it at low levels.

A new soul for each class. Dimensions are available at low level, probably a couple of QoL things, and I know classes got a lot of work on their abilities and whatnot.

I am thinking about returning as well. I never got any characters above 30, I don't think.

Regarding Storm Legion, what is there for low level, new players? I am thinking about returning, but if the return is short, I don't want to buy the expansion unless I can get something out of it at low levels.

Depending on when you quit the game, A LOT has changed. Though Storm Legion didn't introduce new low-level zones, it added the new souls and dimensions, like Kitty mentioned. Trion did a lot to smooth out and speed up the leveling process for low level chars... they just didn't wait till Storm Legion to implement it all.

I am thinking about returning as well. I never got any characters above 30, I don't think.

Regarding Storm Legion, what is there for low level, new players? I am thinking about returning, but if the return is short, I don't want to buy the expansion unless I can get something out of it at low levels.

As with any PvE mmo, the bulk of the content is at max level.

That said, there are some really good story quests, dungeons, instant adventure, dimensions, artifact collecting for some nice rewards, a few puzzles and many different achievements scattered across the game. If you are low level, I strongly advise you to finish each quest chain in each zone.